Peace Children’s Choir Launching Ceremony

On November 27th of last year, the Peace Children’s Choir Launching Ceremony took place at Lighthouse International School in Dili, Timor-Leste. A total of 115 attendees, including 82 students and 11 teachers from Lighthouse International School, teachers from other schools, parents, pastors, and representatives from three media outlets, participated in the ceremony.

The connection between Lighthouse International School and HWPL began in 2022. Noel Dagumo Rebuyon, the school’s principal, participated in HWPL Peace Teacher Training on August 2022. From January to October 2023, he taught a peace education curriculum consisting of 12 lessons to 10 children at Lighthouse International School. Subsequently, starting from November, the second round of peace education has been ongoing.

Through the process of implementing peace education, Principal Rebuyon and HWPL contemplated how children could practice the values and meaning of peace they learned. As a result, they decided to establish a Peace Children’s Choir to spread a culture of peace through peaceful songs.

Preparations for the Peace Children’s Choir Launching Ceremony began in October of the previous year. The children prepared for the ceremony by practicing HWPL’s “Peace Hero” song with choreography, and successfully showcased their performance at the launching ceremony. Principal Rebuyon explained the significance and his impressions of the choir’s inauguration. Additionally, a representative of the school’s parents delivered a congratulatory speech, and the children pledged to grow as peace citizens by embodying the values of peace.

Parents and teachers who attended the event expressed pride in the stage the children had worked hard to prepare. The entire school community enjoyed the time together, singing along with the choir. Beatriz Pereira, a teacher from the Child Protection Center Kindergarten in Dili, Timor-Leste, expressed a desire to establish a Peace Children’s Choir at her school.

Moreover, Timor-Leste media outlets covered the Peace Children’s Choir Launching Ceremony, resulting in five separate media reports within Timor-Leste.